My Club Fitting/Not Fitting Experience

A lot of my posts recently have been of the new club/new balls variety. Surprise, looking to buy new clubs. My swing is to the point I feel I can be consistant enough for new clubs. I have to say my ball fitting experience was amazing. Since then, I feel like I'm watching my 09 Bears again.

I finally have the cash together (also trading my Burner's in) to make the purchase and be fitted. I decided to go tonight to test some clubs and see if I could make my order. Wow. I don't want to come across as a know it all customer so I'll save the detailed experience from each store. One was good the other was just something I don't want to be a part of again.

A month or so ago I was told I hit everything on the heel, so a 2* flat would help a lot. These were on some Ping Zing 2's. I go today, and I'm standard. Maybe I was feeling/swinging different, but now I'm very unsure of what I need. I just don't want to walk away standard to find out in a few months it was an anomily and I need something else. Even though they can be adjusted, I feel like I'd save some money having it done in the beginning.

Hoping to clear up some details on the clubs in another thread but Im looking at the following;

CG7 BP's (reg)
CG7's (original reg)
Nike VR's (back after comparing side by side)

I haven't been able to test all of them side by side.

I feel even more lost now than I did before. I mean that would be great if I was standard all the way cause I could just walk away my new clubs!

Does anyone else have similiar experiences (lie/loft changes)?
When are they supposed to over shaft options?
Did anyone do their fitting over multiple sessions?
I've been to Golfsmith (very helpful) and PGA SS so far...
Did you wait for your swing to settle before getting fit? I feel mine is almost there just a few lapses and my mechanics are off every now and then. I will be getting lessons, just not sure when... I've had them in the past and I'm just trying to dig up some old lessons and tips. The ask the pro section has been a life saver too.

I looked at some of the fitting threads and couldn't put it together. Thanks for reading the long post.... My GF appreciates you all listening haha, she has been hearing about this all night.. Someone elses turn!!!

I know how you feel. Clubs are a big investment, and you wish someone you trusted was in charge of getting you fit right. I got fitted for my irons, driver, hybrid, and 3 wood. The fitting left a lot to be desired because I walked away with all standard equipment, and I don't know if that's what I fit into or if they were just to lazy to give me an in depth fitting. I would just recommend getting fitted, asking questions, expressing concerns, and not purchasing until you are sure you are sold.

War_Mongering said:

I know how you feel. Clubs are a big investment, and you wish someone you trusted was in charge of getting you fit right. I got fitted for my irons, driver, hybrid, and 3 wood. The fitting left a lot to be desired because I walked away with all standard equipment, and I don't know if that's what I fit into or if they were just to lazy to give me an in depth fitting. I would just recommend getting fitted, asking questions, expressing concerns, and not purchasing until you are sure you are sold.

Click to expand...

Yeah, the associate at Golfsmith was awesome to deal with. Just didn't feel like they had all options there. PGA SS just brushed me off haha. Did your equipment work out for you?

Concerned about both fittings.Your first one you came away 2* flat and the second one was standard.Was that with same club ?Also 2* flat to whos standard?Unfortunately each Oem's has their own standard specs.Your 2* flat might have been the others standard.This does make fittings confusing if the fitter doesn't explain that. Also if you were using 2 different shafts,you can get different lie angles.Different shafts droop different and will change lie angles.

I throw away the oem's specs and fit you to specs.If you choose not to purchase from me,you will have these specs and can go anywhere to order clubs with.All that person has to do is then look at the specs on the irons you choose to buy from and order correctly.

my first fitted irons were wilson di7's, done by wilson at a fitting day. 2 degrees flat, everything else standard.
got fitted for my R9's by a PGA proffesional i trust and i am 2 degrees upright, everything else standard.

you really need to get fitted on the brand you are going to buy. as said above, each manufacturers standards are different.

BigLeftyinAZ said:

Concerned about both fittings.Your first one you came away 2* flat and the second one was standard.Was that with same club ?Also 2* flat to whos standard?Unfortunately each Oem's has their own standard specs.Your 2* flat might have been the others standard.This does make fittings confusing if the fitter doesn't explain that. Also if you were using 2 different shafts,you can get different lie angles.Different shafts droop different and will change lie angles.

I throw away the oem's specs and fit you to specs.If you choose not to purchase from me,you will have these specs and can go anywhere to order clubs with.All that person has to do is then look at the specs on the irons you choose to buy from and order correctly.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the explanation. This makes sense. I pulled up the Specs for BP's/VR's and saw some slight differences in the 6 irons lie angle (I couldnt find the old Zing 2's lie to compare). It was 61.5 for the BP's and 62 for the VR's. Would that make a huge difference?

I was able to hit the Nike's flush but we didnt do the board test on the BP's. I didn't feel comfortable to walk out of the store and it sounds like I made the right choice. My swing speed from the monitor was ranging 88-104. I just didnt trust it. I thought myself to be more on the 90 side. My driver is 105ish. Even though I dont want to drop a lot on shafts, I would at least like to know what would work for me just in case there was a better option they could just swap for free lol. It didnt really seem like it was going to go into that.

Are you in Tucson? Most of family is down there!

Br1an_g said:

my first fitted irons were wilson di7's, done by wilson at a fitting day. 2 degrees flat, everything else standard.
got fitted for my R9's by a PGA proffesional i trust and i am 2 degrees upright, everything else standard.

you really need to get fitted on the brand you are going to buy. as said above, each manufacturers standards are different.

Click to expand...

Appreciate the input. I'm really leaning towards the Cleveland's and will hopefully find a good place for fittings. I want a place to compare the VR's and Clevelands together with the same specs... BUt its not looking like that will happen I just really want to get the best club for how I play. I know nothings perfect but I'd like to get as close as possible lol.

Yoccos1981 said:

Thank you for the explanation. This makes sense. I pulled up the Specs for BP's/VR's and saw some slight differences in the 6 irons lie angle (I couldnt find the old Zing 2's lie to compare). It was 61.5 for the BP's and 62 for the VR's. Would that make a huge difference?

I was able to hit the Nike's flush but we didnt do the board test on the BP's. I didn't feel comfortable to walk out of the store and it sounds like I made the right choice. My swing speed from the monitor was ranging 88-104. I just didnt trust it. I thought myself to be more on the 90 side. My driver is 105ish. Even though I dont want to drop a lot on shafts, I would at least like to know what would work for me just in case there was a better option they could just swap for free lol. It didnt really seem like it was going to go into that.

Are you in Tucson? Most of family is down there!

Click to expand...

Yes, I'm near Tucson.Far south and east,just outside the city limits. One more factor I forgot to mention. Length also play's a part in lie angles. If one club was longer,it would make it play more upright. Something else to consider

Yoccos1981 said:

Yeah, the associate at Golfsmith was awesome to deal with. Just didn't feel like they had all options there. PGA SS just brushed me off haha. Did your equipment work out for you?

Click to expand...

Irons - I am now really confident in my iron play now. I am hitting more greens, and even hitting the long irons with a nice trajectory.
Hybrid - Mixed so far...hit one huge drive on a par 3 with it, but I pushed it...other than that I have had one solid shot the fairway with it.
Fairway wood - Excellent of the tee, not so much off the deck.
Driver - All depends on if I have my ego in check and don't try and over swing...

Overall, I probably should have went to a second fitting before purchasing (except with the irons).

BigLeftyinAZ said:

Yes, I'm near Tucson.Far south and east,just outside the city limits. One more factor I forgot to mention. Length also play's a part in lie angles. If one club was longer,it would make it play more upright. Something else to consider

Click to expand...

It looks like there is a slight difference in length (.25 longer for the Nike). Would that be enough to change the lie?

War_Mongering said:

Irons - I am now really confident in my iron play now. I am hitting more greens, and even hitting the long irons with a nice trajectory.
Hybrid - Mixed so far...hit one huge drive on a par 3 with it, but I pushed it...other than that I have had one solid shot the fairway with it.
Fairway wood - Excellent of the tee, not so much off the deck.
Driver - All depends on if I have my ego in check and don't try and over swing...

Overall, I probably should have went to a second fitting before purchasing (except with the irons).

Click to expand...

I'll defnitely make sure I book something ahead of time or go when its slow at the store so I can ask as much as I need too. That's great they got your irons dailed in.. Hopefully the other clubs will start to feel the same as those.

Thanks all! I went to multiple shops to test the CG7's, VR's and R9's. I felt kind of bad going to different places but each person was extremely helpful and offered a lot of advice. After I was finally able to hit each side by side, I decided on the BP's once and for all. I just needed to be sure they were best for my game. The others my shots tended to go left (im right handed) and these were smooth and straight.

I was standard on all my fittings with BP's. I did hit on the board multiple times over different days and each time it was determined standard lie was what I needed. The impact tape showed mostly center shots, a few close to the toe (when I started getting tired). My swing speed ranged from mids 80's to high 90's so I figured stick with reg flex until I can be more consistant. They went over the differences I would see in ball flight between the shafts. Great experience though after my initial day. I finally felt comfortable with my fitting, thanks again! I am really excited to use these on the course tomorrow.

If anyone is interested...

I took another approach to being 'fitted' for clubs.

I went to a place which custom fit golfers for a living. They don't sell clubs. They do fittings. Their place looks like a shop with a few bays where the fittings take place.

The first thing they did was to measure my shaft bend profile. Shaft bend profile is a measurement of how I bend the shaft on the backswing and downswing. Knowing this information, the fitter can recommend a shaft that best fits that profile.

Second step was to measure the bend profile of each shaft on my current clubs to determine if they fit the profile measured at step #1. We ended up keeping my hybrids and the rest was not even close. I was sold at that point because those hybrids were the clubs I was hitting with the most confidence at the time of the fitting.

Last step was to determine which 'heads' to keep and which ones to replace (since we were going to replace the shaft on these clubs). I ended up swithcing irons to go with a smaller head that had minimal offset. I also ended up swithing driver and 3w. I kept my wedge heads. I spent two solid hours with the fitter just discussing the different alternatives as we were making all these decisions.

After a three week wait for the clubs to be ordered and put together at the shop, I had a brand new set.

I have played about 10 rounds with this set and I can tell you that it makes a huge difference. I didn't shave 15 strokes off my score or anything stupid like that but this process has eliminated a variable from the ball striking equation. Now I know that it isn't the club; it's me. Knowing that makes a huhe difference for me.

If interested, I can provide more details about the experience.

Robert